knowlton



Dec. 10, 1929. H, owL'ro 1,738,587

MACHINE FOR OPERATING ON HEELS Filed oht. 17, 1925 i w #4 .2. 4e ii //09/4 /z" Flgolo I; l 1 i v i E E I I 46 Patented Eec. 1Q, 1929 i ih lTifii NOEVTOOD H. KNOWLTON, OF RQGKPORT, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOE 'IO UNITEDSHOE MAOHINERY'OORPOBATION, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A COHORATION OF NEWannsnr MACHINE FOR OPERATING ON HEELS Application filedOctober 17, 1925.Serial No. 63,092.

This invention relates to machines for operating upon the heels of bootsand shoes and isillustrated as embodied in a machine for trimming thebreast portions of heels. for example, Louis heels. The invention isillus trated herein as embodied in a machine of the type disclosed inUnited States Letters Pateit No. 1326,2354, granted Au'gust 22, 1922, onapplication of D. W. Bunker.

Machines of this type comprise a rotary cutter and a work support orcarrier against which the tread face of the shoe is held and which ismovable upwardly to carry the shoe across the acting face of thecutterand to expose the breast face of the heel to the action of the cutter.if the upward movement of theshoe is in a straight line the cutter willgive the'shoe a' transversely straight breast. If the shoeis moved awayfrom and toward the cutter during its-movement past the cutter the-heelwill be given a transversely convex breast. An object of this inventionis to provide mechanism'whereby either a transversely straight breastor, a transversely convex breast may be given to the heel at the optionof the operator.

"Accordingly, features of the invention consist in an organizationcomprising a rotary cutter. a work support or carrier which is iovablevertically and also movable toward and-from the cutter, and' a pluralityof dis- .similarstationary cams or templets,'e1ther off which may becaused to govern the lines of movement of the shoe past the cutter todetermine the form of the face to be generated'by the cutter; As shownherein, a roll mounted upon theshoe carrier engages a straight v rticaledge of a stationary plate or templet so'that the heel is given arectilinear movement across the cutter and causes a transverselystraight breast face to be formed thereby. Adjacent to the straighttemplet is another templet having a convex surface, and the roll on theshoe carrier is arranged forv adjustment to engage the edge of thesecond templet so that the-heel, during its movement across the cutter,Willbe moved firs'taway from the cutterand then toward itl t'ocause atransversely convex breast face to heel.

It is important that heels having breast faces of varying widths be solocated on the heel carrier that when they are moved across the cutterto impart the convex'shape to the be formed thereby upon the heel breastthe center of that convexity will be in the center of the heel breast,and it is also important that the means which holds the heel when solocated be operated without special attention on the part of theoperator. 7

carrier whereby heels of different widths are located with theirlongitudinal median planes in a constant position with respect to saidtemplet, and meansfor operating the jaws as an incident to movement ofthe carrier past the cutter. As shown a pair of equally and oppositelymovable aws are mounted on the shoe carrier, one of said jaws beingconnected to a foot treadle so that initial operation of the treadlewill close the jaws upon the heel, the center of the heel breast,because of the centralizing action of the jaws, occupying a constantposition irrespectively of the width of the heel, and further operationof the treadle will effect upwardmovement of. the

carrier, the adjustment being such that the center of the heel willreach the center of the cutter at the same time that the roll on thecarrier reaches the highest point of the cam or templet. Preferably, theshoe-holding jaws are provided .with roughened surfaces which engage thesides of the toplift only of the heel.

These and other features of the invention, including various novelconstructions and combinations of parts, will appear more fully from thefollowing detailed description when will be pointed outin the ap-' readin connection with the accompanying" drawings and pended claims.

In the drawings: 1 is aside elevation of a machine embodying the presentinvention;

Fig. is a plan view of the work-positiondevices; and

Fig. 8 is a front elevation,-partly in section, of the heel-holdingmechanism.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, the

' bracket 20, which, near its upper end, has a dovetailed portion 22arranged to slide in guideway formed inv projection 21 from the column 2and extending parallel to the shaft 10. A hand-wheel 26 and screw 28 areprovided for adjusting the slide in the guideway, the parts beingmaintained in adjusted position by a screw having a head 30, the screwpassing through a slot in the projection2 l, and being threaded into theslide 22. By loosening the screw and turning the handwheel 26, all theshoe-locating and holding mechanism coiiiprisihg the shoe carrier may bemoved longitudinally of the shaft 10.

Pivoted at 3 1 to the lower end of the bracket 20 is a clamping member36 through which a shaft 38 extends, the clamping member being tit,toned on the shaft by a bolt 40. T he shaft 38 is eiztended to a pointbeneath the cutterhead 14 where it is reduced to form a heellocatinggage. As shown in Fig. 2, the reduction or the shaft consists in cuttingaway about three-quarters of its cr-osssection, leavins segmentalportion 42 one flat face 4 1 of which is utilized a a gage for locatingthe heel longitudinally by engagement with its ice. A square, hollowpost 46 is fitted to n the upper portion of the shaft 38 and oed betweenopposed flat faces formed on projections 48 extending forward ly fromthe bracket 20. A work carrier 50, which carries means for locating theshoe by engagement with the tread face ofthe forepart. the tread face ofthe heel, and the sides g and has a flat portion 58 against which thetre face elf-the reel is placed. From Fig. 2 ill be seen that thesurfaceof the portion 581s right angles to the surface 44 of the 4 2'andsue-nanny back of it to expose for contact with the breast of the heelan adequate portion of the gaging surface l i.

In order to hold a shoe which has been located by the positioningmembers 56, 58, and 42, a pair of heel-gripping jaws 60, 62

is provided. These aws are pivoted by pins 6i to the upper portion 100of the carrier and have interengaging teeth 66 (Fig. 3) so hat when oneof them is moved the other. will heinoved equally and oppositely. Inorder to adjust the initial amount of separation of the jaws a screw 68is threaded through an arm 70 of the'j'aw 62 and engages a projection72- on the jaw ,60, said screw being held in adjusted position by aset-nut 74. Closing movement of the jaws is limited by engagement of aprojection 7 6 on the jaw 60 with a part of the shoe-carrying member 50.The heel-engaging portions of the jaws 60, 62 are preferably providedwith toothed surfaces 78 which are preferably of limited extentheightwise of the heel and engage the sides of the toplift only oftheheel. v

To operate the jaws,the upperen-dof a push rod 80 is connected at 82tothe arm 70 of thejaw 62 and the lower end is pivoted at 84- to a lever86 fulcrumedat 88 on a bracket 90 secured to the floor. .A' treadlemember is pivoted at St to thebracket 90 and. has at its nection 96 withthe lever 86. Consequently, when the outer portion of the treadle 92 isde pressed, the lever 86 will be operated to raise the rod 80 first toclose the jaws 60, 62'upon the heel, and thereafter to raisethework-carrier 50 and the parts carried thereby for the purpose ofpresenting the breast face of the heel to the action of the cutters 16.Thus, the workprcsentiug movement is initiated by the arresting effectof the heel upon the closing movement of the jaws 60, 62. The length ofthe rod 80 may be adjusted by a turn buckle 98. lhe portion 100 of thecarrier 50 is shaped to embrace the rear part of the shoe and to form aguard for the operators hand which "holds the rear portion of the shoe.

illustrated machine is provided with mechanism for imparting to theheel,

outer end a pin-and-slot con-- :t the option of the user, a transversely.112 choice of breast to be formed.

A roll 102 mounted on the post 46 may be set to engage a straight,vertical face or track formed on the front edge-of a plate104. The roll102 is held against its track 10% during upward movement of the post 46by a spring .106 located between the bracket 20 anda-n adjustable handnut 108 on a rod 110 which passes through the bracket and is pivoted toa. collar .112 embracing the shaft 38. When. the roll 102. is. thuslocated on thetrack 104 H to the desired condition with respect to vcutter-guard 150 s mounted on a stud the heel is given a "transverselystraight.

second plate 114. having a cam surface on its front edge with which theroll 102 may, at

the option of the operator, be set to engage. As shown in Fig. 2, theroll 102 is mounted on a shaft 116 to which asleeve 118 is pinned. Thesleeve 118 slides in a bore formed ina b 120 through whichthe shaft 116passes. Between the sleeve 118 and the bottom of the bore is arranged aspring 122. On the outer end 01 the shaft 116 is a thumb-head 124 whichhas a projection 126 arranged to enter a recess in the boss 120. Asshown in Fig. 2, the roll 102 is set to engage the cam plate 114 and,during upward movement of the shoe,'will cause the shoe-locating orcarrying parts mounted on the member to be moved first away from the.cutter and then toward it, thus causing the cutter to impart atransverse convexity to the breast face of the heel. When it is desiredto use the ma chine for imparting a transversely straight breast to theheel, the shoe carrier will be movedoutwardly slightly against thetension of the spring 106 and the thumb-head 124 V will be pulledoutwardly and given a partial rotation so that the projection 126 willrest against the outer surface of the boss120. The roll 102 will then belocated to engage the straight edge of the plate 104 and the shoe willbe guided in a straight, vertical path. The plates 104 and 114 aresecured by screws 130 which pass through slots in a standard 132extending upwardly from the bracket 120 and are threaded into theplates. A screw 134-is threaded into the upper end of the standard 132-and has a flange 136 which engages a slot in thecplate 104. Byloosening the screws 130 and turning the screw 184, the plates 104 and114 may be adjusted vertically. This enables the cam plate 114 to be soadjusted that the transverse convexity of the heel breast maybe properlylocated transversely of the heel.

In order that the shoe carrier 50 may be adjusted toward and from thecutter so that the knite willclear the shank surface of the shoe, theroll 102 is arranged for adjustment at right angles to the shaft 10.Asbest shown in Fig. the boss 120 is formed on a slide which is mountedon. the'post 46 for horizontal sliding movement at right: angles to theshaft 10, A screw 140 is mounted for rotation in a part 142 secured tothe post 46 and is threaded into the slide 138 so that when the screw140 is rotated-by its thumb-head 144 the nude 138 will be movedhorizontally relatively to the post 46. The

slide- 138 is held in adjusted position by a screw 146wh1ch passesthrough a slot 148 in: the slide 138 and is threaded nto the positioningand carrying mechanism.

152 fixed in the upper portion of the tread rest 58 and is held in placeby a set-screw 154.

It will be clear that since the jaws 60, 62 are moved equally andoppositelya heel or" any width will be centralized between them andhence will be centralized with respect'to the cam 114 so that after thecam is once properly set it does not need to be re-adjusted for heels ofother or varying widths that are being operated upon.v

It will also be noted that the shoe holding and locating mechanism maybe adjusted about the longitudinal axis of the'shait 38; also, that thecenter of this shaft is nearly coincident with the breast edge of thetoplift.

By loosening the bolt 40 and the bolt 52 the carrier 50, carrying theshoe-locating devices and the shaft 38 because of the key and slotconnect-ion 51, 53, can be turned about the longitudinal axis of theshaft 38 for the purpose of locating the heel with respect to thecutter, so that the required amount of material will be removed from theheel breast to Form the shape of heel desired.

The illustrated machine is provided with improved mechanism forretarding upward movement of the shoe to prevent the'cutter fromchipping the lower edge of the heel breast while completing the trimmingoperation. On the shaft 38 is a flanged sleeve 158 adjust-ably heldthereonby a set-screw 160.

A member 162 is loosely mounted on the shaft 38 and normally restsagainst the mem ber 86. Between the flange of the sleeve 158 and themember162 is a compression spring 164 which may be maintained underinitial deflection of any desired degree according to the displacementof the sleeve 158. Connected to the member 162 is a rod 166 which hasnearly completed its cut. Upward movement ot the workis thus momentarilychecked until sufficient additional force is brought to bear on thetreadle to compress the spring 164 in addition to lifting the inertload. The cutting stress is thus momentarily relieved so that when it isresumed the cutter will complete its work without chipping the loweredge of the heel breast. The sleeve 172 is so set as to determine thelower position of the post 46 and hence of the shoe holding,

shock of contact. of the ear 168 with the collar 170 and the sleeve 172may be deadene'd -by suitable washers of leather orthehne The l placedbetween them. A spring 174 is preferaibly connected between the ear 168and a pin 176011 themachine frame under suliicient tension partially, atleast, to counterbalance the weight ofthe post 46 and the parts carriedthereby and hence to relieve the operator "of part of the effort ofoperating the machine. In order adjustably to determine the limit ofupward movement of the carrier 50, a plate 176 is secured to the post 46by a screw 178 passing through a slot in the plate and threaded into thepost. The plate 176 is adjusted to engage the lower edge of one of theprojections 48 when the desired movement of the carrier past the cutterhas been effected.

Having thus desc "ibed my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a rotarycutter, a shoe carrier movable across the acting face of the cutter,aplurality of temple-ts, a roll arranged to engage oneof t-he templetsto control movement of the carrier toward and from the cutter as itmoves across the cutter, and means for relatively shifting, the roll andtemplets to place the carrier under control of another templet.

2. In amachine of the class described, the combination of a rotarycutter, a tread rest toreceive the tread face of the heel of a shoe,means for moving the tread rest and the cutt-er relatively to carryttheshoe heel across the acting face of the cutter, and means in cludingalternatively operating controlling; elements for directing suchmovement in a straight or in a curved path, as the case may be.

3. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a rotarycutter, a shoe carrier movable across the acting face of the cutter, aplurality of stationary templets, roll on the carrier arranged to engageone of the templets to control movement of the carrier relatively to thecutter, and means for shifting the roll into operative relation toanother templet at the will of the operator.

I; In a machine of the class described, the combination of a rotarycutter, a tread rest to receive the tread faceof the heel of a shoe,means for movingthe tread rest relatively to the cutter, means fordirecting such moveientin a straight or in a curved path, and meansadapted to be set at will to en arge eitiier of said directing means.

5. In a machine of the class described, the

combination of a rotary cutter, a rest for the tread face of a heel, andmeans for moving the rest and the heel across the acting face of thecutter, said-means comprising jaws pivoted to the rest and constructedand arranged for equ'alandopposite movement to grip the heel, said meansalso comprising connections arranged to close the jaws upon,

7. In a machine of the class described the combination of a rotarycutter, a tread rest to receive the tread face of a heel, heel holdingjaws mounted on the rest and arranged for equal and opposite movement,means for closing the jaws and for moving them and the tread rest tocarry the heel past the cutter, and a plurality of guiding meansarranged for selective use for controlling the path of such carryingmovement.

8. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a rotarycutter, a worlecarrier having a tread-rest for the tread face of a heel,cooperative jaws carried by said carrier to grip the heel positionedagainst said treadrest, and means arranged to effect relative closingmovement of said jaws to grip the heel and V thereafter to movesaidcarrier, while maintaining said jaws in gripping; lation, in adirection to carry the heel sidewise pastsaid cutter.

9. In a machine of the class descriliied, the combination of a rotarycutter, a tread i against which the tread face of a heel is by a hand ofthe operator, means for moving the rest to cause operation of the cutterupon the breast of the heel, means for moving the tread rest toward andfrom the cutter during its movement past the cutter, jaws on the restarranged for equal and opposite movement centralize the heel withrespect to the means which moves the rest toward and from the cutter,and means for operating the jaws to grasp the heel as an incident tomovement of the rest past the cutter.

10. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a rotarycutter, a carrier, a pair of relatively movable jaws mounted on saidcarrier to grip a heel, means for closing; the jaws, means for movingthe carrier by aid of the jaws to present a gripped heel to th' iilcutter, and a cam for guiding the carrr L a curved path relatively tothecuttez part a. convexity to the heel held in th 11. In a machine of theclass de cribed, the

combination of a rotary cutter, a carrier provlded wlth a rest forthetread face of a eel, heel holding aws mounted on said carrier andarranged to close equally and oppositely against the sides of the heelto hold the heel upon the rest, and operating means including a memberarranged to effect, by a continuous movement in one direction, a closingmovefrom the cutter, and treadle operated means arranged first to closethe jaws upon the heel to locate a heel of any width with its center ina predetermined relation to said cam and thereafter acting to move thejaws and heel body to present the heel to the cutter.

18. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a rotarycutter, a rest for the tread faceof the heel, holding means arranged toclose against the sides of the heel to hold the heel upon the rest, agage to locate the heel relatively to the holding means, and manualmeans operating first to close the holding means and then to moverelatively the shoe and cutter to cause operation of they cutter uponthe heel breast and to effect relative movement of the gage and theholding means to prevent the gage from interfering with the action ofthe cutter upon the heel.

lLIn a machine of the class described, the combination of a cutter, arest for the tread face of the heel, two holding jaws on the restarranged for equal and opposite movement, a gage for locating the heelof the shoe relatively to the jaws, means for moving relatively thecutter and the tread rest to cause the cutter to operate on the breastof the heel of the shoe, and means J operating as an incident to saidrelative movement for causing the jaws to hold the shoe and formovingthe jaws and heel bodily relatively to the gage.

15. In a machine of the class described. the combination of a rotarycutter,.-a pair of jaws movable relatively to the cutter and equally andoppositely movable relatively to each other, a gage for locating theshoe rel atively to the jaws, means for closing the jaws and moving themrelatively to the cutter andaway from the gage to cause the cutter toact on the heel of the shoe and to avoid interference of the gage withsuch action, and means acting after the shoe leaves the gage for movingthe jaws and cutter relatively in a direction at right angles to thefirst-mentioned relative movement as an incident thereto.

16. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a rotarycutter, a bracket, a shaft secured to the bracket, a flat sided postmounted to slide on the shaft, proj ections on the bracket engaging theflat sides of the post, and a shoe carrier mount- 7 ed on the post andmovable therewith in presenting a shoe to the cutter.

17. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a rotarycutter, a shaft, a hollow post on the shaft, a shoe carrier on the postarranged for adjustment about the axis of the shaft, a spline connectingthe carrier to the shaft so that the shaft and carrier will be adjustedtogether relatively to the post, and means for releasably holding theshaft from turning.

18. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a rotarycutter, ashoe carrier movable to present a shoe heel to the cutter, ashaft fixed against longitudinal movement on which the carrier slides,relatively movable abutments arranged on said shaft, a compressionspring arranged between and seated against said abutments, a rodparallel to said shaft and connected to one of said abutments, an ear onthe shoe carrier arranged to slide on the rod, and a collar to beengaged by the car when by movement of the carrier the action of thecutter upon the heel is nearly completed and to retard movement of thecarrier.

19. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a cutter anda work holder movable relatively one to the other to cut the workprogressively, manually operative means arranged to effect such relativemovement of said cutter and said Work holder, a spring, relativelymovable elements arranged to'maintain said spring under initialdeflection, and lost-motion connections arranged to apply the developedforce of said spring to counteract the moving force applied to saidmeans during the latter stages of the cutting operation.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

NORWOOD H. KNOWLTON.

